


Rain Under A Clear Sky

by ml101



Series: Tales from the Land [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Mantis Menagerie Fic Exchange, Mantis Menagerie Fic Exchange 2018, May Day Menagerie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 17:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14501829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ml101/pseuds/ml101
Summary: There's a Filipino saying that whenever there is rain when the sky is clear, a mythical creature called a Tikbalang was getting married.Well humans usually only do get some things right.





	Rain Under A Clear Sky

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lotus0kid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lotus0kid/gifts).



> Dear lotus0kid,
> 
> It has been the greatest pleasure and honor to be your Zookeeper for this year's Menagerie. Here's the first of the three stories that I managed over the course of the fix echange and I hope you like it. This is the little twist I did for a local mythical we have here in the Philippines.
> 
> Your Zookeeper,  
> wierdogal/ml101

Oh Belle was dead.

She was going to be dead, and her corpse would never be found...all because she was reading a book and was not paying attention to the guide and now she was lost.

She was usually a great traveller and had an amazing sense of direction but it felt like she was going around in circles for the past hour.

It was getting dark and she only had a few minutes of sunlight left…

The guide had warned her that it was easy to get lost in the forest of the Philippines but she had been too engrossed in the readings of the country's culture to really pay much attention.

Her usual fault as always.

She had been lost countless times. All because she had her head in the clouds instead of listening to the guide or her buddy or whoever was tasked to make sure she wouldn't get lost.

Numerous times it was because she was too busy reading to pay much attention to her surroundings.

She tried once again to locate the path the guide had said to look for if someone got lost. She would find it eventually, it's not like she had ventured that far away.

She just hoped she'd find it soon. She knew some basic camping skills and had enough supplies to get her through the night. But she wasn't keen on setting up camp when the path could be no more than a few feet from where she stood. So she ventured forward, hoping that the last of the sunlight would be enough to help her navigate through the forest.

She was too distracted to hear the faint sound of hooves following her.

xXx

Rumple loved it whenever there was a traveler that ventured away from the tour group. Humans were simple minded beings that never really do listen or follow the rules.

The female was too busy reading a book to even notice that she had been by herself for over half an hour. She looked utterly ridiculous when she finally realized she was following no one.

Utterly ridiculou and incredibly beautiful.

Rumple had never seen a human like this for his entire existence and that was quite a long time. He generally had a distaste for humans but this particular one made him reevaluate his position.

Not to mention the human seemed to be a curious one. He managed to make out the title of the book she was reading and it was a book about the culture and folklore of the forest. Be that as it may, she still wound up lost and at his mercy.

The sun was beginning to set and it looked like she was finally giving up. She rested on a nearby tree stump and sighed. "Look at what you've gotten yourself into Belle."

Belle.

That was a magnificent name and it fit her perfectly.

Rumple shook his head. What in gods was he thinking? He was a Tikbalang. He played tricks on travellers for fun...made them get lost and run around in circles. He made himself appear half human, half horse to scare travellers that dare disrupt the forest and have bad intentions with natural resources.

His usual form wasn't anymore glamorous with his scaly glittering skin that was similar to a crocodile or any other reptile.

He was an elemental keeper and yet here he was nursing a crush on a simple-minded human with long brown hair and deep blue eyes.

"Guess I have no choice but to set up camp," began Belle as she found a clearing she could set-up a fire and a tent.

She was a bit far from the path the humans used and Rumple seemed to have lost the fun in the situation he himself was at fault. He didn't stop observing her though...there was just something about Belle that was different.

And so he stayed and kept watch. This part of the forest wasn't dangerous and the animals knew better than to attack humans.

It was getting lost that was the usual problem.

Then again, that was mainly because of him.

Rumple debated whether to create a signal for the guides to find their lost adventurer when a loud bang disrupted the night.

Belle had just gotten into her tent when the flash of lightning and loud thunder sounded. The lightning had hit a tree very close to where she had made camp and even with all her reading, she didn't know if it was best to stay put or not.

The tent was no go given the metal poles. But there wasn't any good over at all outside. There wasn't any covered gazebo of any kind...just more tall trees that would probably work as lightning rods.

There was probably a 50-50 chance so Belle decided to grab whatever she could and abandoned her tent.

Rumple was too shocked to do anything when Belle emerged from her tent and decided to run at a random direction. The wrong direction he might add. It would bring her deeper into the forest.

Rumpl scampered after her, running, trying to use his powers to guide her back to the path and get her to safety.

And it was working...she was only a few more meters from re-discovering the path and she would be on her way to safety.

Which was also the exact moment that lightning struck and dismantled the tree right next to her.

"Belle!"

Belle was blasted off her feet and Rumple quickly ran to catch her...which he didn't really plan that well because next thing they both know they were tumbling to the ground. Rumple clutching tightly to Belle's arms and Belle's hands grasping his hair.

The lightning seemed to stop with that one final blast but the rain continued to pour around them.

Belle dared open her eyes...not really knowing if she was still alive after that flash of light but she soon realized that she was hanging on for dear life on something. Or rather someone?

"Are you alright?" came the voice and Belle finally opened her eyes in surprise to see-well not really a human but a sort of human looking at her concerned.

"I think so," replied Belle as she quickly let go, making the man-creature wince as Belle accidentally plucking his-it's hair. "Oh I'm sorry I-" Belle's eyes widened at the three strands of hair in her hand…

They were gold.

Rumple's eyes widened. Oh this was certainly not how he imagined this night was going to head. He had just wanted to poke fun at the human for not paying attention and then said human turned out to be the most beautiful creature in all of existence. Then said human just had to be caught in the middle of the forest during a dangerous lightning storm-

Which made Rumple realized that they were getting drenched. He waved a hand and suddenly the rain stopped pouring over them but not around them.

Belle stared at her surroundings in awe. "You-you're doing this?"

"I'm a keeper of nature," replied Rumple as though that would explain everything and he was surprised when Belle gasped.

"You're a Tikbalang," replied Belle. "I knew I heard hooves earlier! Should have probably wore my clothes inside-out...ummmm" She suddenly offered him back the three strands of gold hair. "Um, I don't really-you don't have to-well you know serve me."

So she knew…

When a human plucks three golden hair from a Tikbalang, the Tikbalang will serve that human until the Tikbalang dies.

"If anything, I am in your debt," replied Belle. "Thank you for saving me."

"I got you running around in circles the first place," said Rumple.

"Well it was my fault for not paying attention to the guide," said Belle with a smile. "Ummm, my name is Belle."

Rumple eyed her curiously. This was not the reaction he was expecting at all. Humans were spooked easily by things they could not understand...not Belle though.

"Rumple," he replied. She smiled as she settled on the forest floor. He watched her but sighed and followed her lead as he too settled on the forest floor.

"So...I meant it when you don't have to serve me," began Belle. "But could you not make me run around in circles anymore."

"You were close to the path when you decided to camp," said Rumple. "I was going to send a signal of smoke to the guides but then the storm came."

"Weird weather," replied Belle. "It was raining earlier even though the sun was blazing down on us and we had clear skies. Funny how this country's culture say that when it's raining on a clear, sunny day a Tikbalang is being married..."

Rumple felt his face redden. Maybe he should transform into his other form so she wouldn't see but by the silence by his side, Belle must have already noticed his blush.

"Are you-you're blushing?"

Rumple swallowed. "Umm, humans have got it slightly true."

"What?" asked Belle in confusion.

"When it rains during a clear sky," began Rumple. "Marriage and love is basically the same word for my kind. So when it's raining during a clear sky, a Tikbalang has found love."

"Oh," said Belle, her eyes widening. "Let me guess, you're the only Tikbalang in this area."

Rumple nodded, avoiding her gaze. He was all but ready to run away when he felt her take a hold of his hand.

"If it's storming during a clear night sky," began Belle. "What does that mean?"

Rumple eyed her in surprise. "To be honest, I don't know...I ummm never bothered to know seeing as I wasn't looking for love."

Belle smiled. "Well, I guess we could find out together."


End file.
